"When It's Love" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

by the American hard rock band

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

. It was released as a single from their album ''

OU812 ''OU812'' (pronounced "Oh You Ate One Too") is the eighth studio album by American Rock music, rock band Van Halen. It was released in 1988 and is the band’s second album to feature vocalist Sammy Hagar. Van Halen began work on the album in Sep ...

''. It was the most popular song from that album, hitting #1 on the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

charts and #5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song has been a live performance staple since it was released in 1988. The song was also included in the set list for the band's ill-fated 1998 tour with Gary Cherone.

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded along ...

has stated that this particular guitar solo is a nod to Eric Clapton.

Reception

It was featured on a

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communic ...

special, ''The Greatest: 25 Greatest Power Ballads'', where it was ranked as the 24th greatest

Reception

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

See also

References

Further reading